1925 Taisho 14 Japanese Panoramic Map of Nikko
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Description: This is an extremely attractive 1925 (Taisho 14) Japanese view map of Nikko, Japan. Nikko is a U.N. World Heritage Site and considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. This uncommon type of map evolved out of the exposure of traditional Japanese view-style cartography and western technology. Views like this began to appear in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in the early 20th century. Generally speaking such maps coincided with the development of railroad lines throughout the once vast Dai Nippon Teikoku or Japanese Empire. It is a distinctive style full of artistic flourish that at the same time performs a practical function. This particular example is both relatively early and exceptionally beautiful. It was printed via a multi-color lithographic process with delicately shaded tones and a easily comprehensible intuitive design. Essentially a transportation map, it shows the major and minor rail lines throughout Nikko, Japan. Similar black and white view of the entire city, including the train stations, on verso. Folds into original art deco slipcase. All text in Japanese.
Date: 1925 (dated)
Cartographer: Japanese cartography appears as early as the 1600s. Japanese maps are known for their exceptional beauty and high quality of workmanship. Early Japanese cartography has its own very distinctive projection and layout system. Japanese maps made prior to the appearance of Commodore Perry and the opening of Japan in the mid to late 1850s often have no firm directional orientation, incorporate views into the map proper, and tend to be hand colored woodblock prints. This era, from the 1600s to the c. 1855, which roughly coincides with the Tokugawa or Edo Period (1603-1886), some consider the Golden Age of Japanese Cartography. Most maps from this period, which followed isolationist ideology, predictably focus on Japan. The greatest cartographer of the period, whose work redefined all subsequent cartography, was Ino Tadataka (1745 -1818). Ino's maps of Japan were so detailed that, when the European cartographers arrived they had no need, even with their far more sophisticated survey equipment, to remap the region. Later Japanese maps, produced in the late Edo and throughout the Meiji period, draw heavily upon western maps as models in both their content and overall cartographic style. While many of these later maps maintain elements of traditional Japanese cartography such as the use of rice paper, woodblock printing, and delicate hand color, they also incorporate western directional orientation, projection systems, and structural norms. Click here for a list of Japanese maps.
Size: Printed area measures 29 x 7 inches (73.66 x 17.78 centimeters)
Condition: Very good. Minor wear on original fold lines. Slips into original art deco slipcase.
Code: Nikko-taisho14-1925 (Necessary for phone inquiries: 646-320-8650)
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